This invention relates generally to connectors for use with printed circuit boards which are provided with contacts adjacent an edge thereof, the connectors each having a slot for receiving the edge portion of the board and being provided with resilient contact members within the slot to engage the contacts on the boards, the contact members having terminals external to the housing. In order to provide for zero force insertion and removal of a board within the slot, provisions have been made in the prior art for moving the contact members away from the passageway provided by the slot in the connector to permit free passage of the board into and out of the slot. After the board has been inserted within the slot, the contacts are returned toward the slot to engage the contacts on the board. The above described zero force insertion and withdrawal connectors usually have some type of cam or lever arrangement which acts upon the contacts to force them into/or out of engagement with the contacts of the board within the passageway.
Such mechanisms for moving the contacts are generally quite complex and usually large thus making the connector bulky. Where a number of connectors are mounted in side-by-side relation to receive a number of circuit boards, they would thus have to be spaced far apart due to their bulkiness and to permit space for manipulating the mechanism. However, it is highly desirable in large installations and in modern day electronic packaging to space the boards closely together to provide as small a package as can be conveniently provided.